Elementary and secondary education

A new study being released today by the Economic Policy Institute finds that increased federal and state investments in comprehensive high quality early childhood development programs would more than pay for themselves – generating more than $2 in returns to taxpayers for every $1 invested. The overall economic benefits would be even greater – more than $8 in benefits to society for each $1 invested.

October 4, 2004. This new report by the Public Policy and Education Fund (PPEF) shows that little if any progress was made in 2004 and 2005 with respect toward one of the most critical issues facing New York’s educational system: the failure to adequately tie state school aid funding levels to student needs and district funding capacity.

The report debunks several of the myths surrounding the educational funding reform movement. In contrast to what some may say – that only … (read more)

In presenting his “5-Year Sound Basic Education Financing Plan,” Governor Pataki claimed that it was based on the Standard and Poor’s estimate of the Resource Gap between current school district education spending and the projected amount needed to attain the Regents’ Education Standards. This is one of the four educational standards for which Standard and Poor’s attempted to estimate the resource gap for the state as a whole and for selected districts.

April 1, 2004. The 68 school districts in the 9-county Binghamton-Ithaca-Elmira-Corning area are among the state’s neediest. The overwhelming majority of would benefit from reforming New York state”s school funding system.Brief >>… (read more)

April 24, 2003. A balanced budget alternative to the Governor’s school aid cuts. Based on an economic impact analysis prepared for FPI by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, this report, released jointly by FPI and the Alliance for Quality Education, shows that the Governor’s school aid cuts are “job killers” in the short run and even worse for the state’s economy over time. The economic benefits of restoring the Governor’s school aid cuts far outweigh the effects … (read more)

April 17, 2002. FPI’s analysis of the combined effect of the 2001-2002 “Bare Bones” Budget and the Governor’s proposed 2002-2003 state aid freeze on New York State school districts and students was presented in a new report from the Alliance for Quality Education and the Public Policy and Education Fund. This analysis shows that under the Governor’s proposed budget, 6 out of 7 school children in the state are in school districts that will receive less aid in 2002-2003 … (read more)

January 10, 2001. Today, the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, a coalition of parent organizations, community school boards, concerned citizens and advocacy groups won a major victory at the State Supreme Court in their challenge to the way in which New York State funds elementary and secondary education. In his 180-page decision, Justice Leland DeGrasse gave the New York State legislature until September 15, 2001, to draw up a new funding system that meets the following five requirements:

January 1999. New from the Fiscal Policy Institute: this report sets forth and analyzed a plan for reforming New York State’s system of financing its schools that covers the aid formula part of Justice’s DeGrasse’s requirements. This plan was developed by FPI in an attempt to “operationalize” the Campaign for Fiscal Equity’s “Statewide Fair Funding Principles for a Sound Basic Education.” David Gaskell, Frank Mauro, Jennifer McCormick and Trudi Renwick wrote the report.… (read more)